The Pale Sands of Uldum
by Veritas Sanguinus
Summary: A little oneshot of Aelwynn relaxing in Uldum. She's almost maxed out on her archaeology so I thought 'why not have her playing around in the sand.'


**Okay everyone, this is just a little piece that takes place right after the end of the Cataclysm, just a little oneshot so don't expect anything more (unless y'all really want it). Aelwynn is almost maxed out on her archaeology so I thought that she needed a little time to relax, so why not relax playing in the sand?! Enjoy, all!**

* * *

Stepping out of her tent onto the pale sands of Uldum, Aelwynn Nightstrider shielded her eyes and looked out over the land before her. As an adventurer, and a Blood Elf with the unfortunate poison of the Worgen curse flowing through her veins, she was fairly conditioned to all weather. From the frozen lands of Northrend with icy gusts of wind that froze people from the inside out, to the sweltering, nigh unbearable heat of the Firelands where a breath would sear the lungs at any given moment, coming to Uldum was another experience entirely. Before the Cataclysm, before the falling of the gates of Uldum, Tanaris had been her experience with desert and sand. She'd been around the Eastern Kingdoms, flown through zones that had been desert-like, but Uldum was a place so unique it had thrown her for a loop.

Her original assignment had been to assist the Tol'vir in Ramkahen, and decided that she needed to stay, not to offer any more aid, but to explore the area. Now she wandered through one of the tombs, broken open courtesy of Harrison Jones and his team of archaeologists.

She headed into one of the antechambers, lifting her torch higher and looking around the room. Hieroglyphics covered the walls, and tables were lined up, cluttered with the possessions of the dead who resided there. As she looked things over she heard the team calling for her from a different chamber and she sighed.

She headed back into the larger burial chamber, meeting up with the archaeological team. "You needed something?" She asked.

A small gnome came up to her, bright pink pigtails bouncing as she stepped merrily. "Sorry, miss. Your raven landed at the camp and was making quite a bit of noise. He had this tied to his leg." She said, brandishing a tied scroll with the Forsaken seal on it.

"Thanks." She said with a slight smile, passing off her torch before taking the scroll and heading out of the burial chambers. It was midday, and the sun was high in the sky, the heat baring down on her and reflecting off the sands beneath her feet. She headed up to her tent on the rise, popping the seal on the scroll and unrolling it.

 _Commander Nightstrider,_

 _By order of the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, your presence has been requested at the celebration of the second anniversary of the Northrend campaign. All who served in the fight against the Lich King, living and dead, will be honored. As a Commander of the Horde armies, and the Champion of both the Forsaken and Sin'dorei, the Dark Lady looks forward to your attendance._

At the bottom was Sylvanas' elegant, spidery signature. A second scroll had been wrapped around it, and Aelwynn set the first down with a raised brow.

 _Aelwynn,_

 _I apologize for the formality, and the invitation. I know that there are far better things that you would rather be using your time for, and to be perfectly honest, I would say the same for myself. This being a formal event I hope that you will at least consider attending, and I hope that you will spread word to your guildmates._

 _With that being said, I hope that you are enjoying your time in that giant sandbox. I know how much you enjoy history and the discoveries that come along with it. My only request is that you don't lose yourself in the past, there are plenty of things to discover in the present as well. Yes, Dalah'surfal, take that as you will. I hope you'll return for the ceremony, if only for my own selfishness. Having you home, even for a short amount of time will be a welcome change to the Undercity. I can only hope you'll realize that when you do return home, you will not be leaving until I have had my fill of you._

 _I hope to see you at the celebration, my love._

 _Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken_

* * *

She crouched over the set of stairs they had begun to uncover, an excavating brush in hand. She looked up, shielding her eyes against the setting sun, and stopped. _It's a mirage._ She thought to herself, watching the Dark Lady of Undercity, garbed in coal black leather that looked to be brushed, with an equally dark hood to shade her features from the sun. Aelwynn brushed her hair back again, and went back to clearing off the steps one at a time.

"Nightstrider!" She heard Harrison shout, and looked up. He pointed, and she turned.

Sylvanas stepped to the edge of the digsite, raising a brow and smirking. "Am I disturbing you, _Dalah'surfal_?" She asked.

Aelwynn stood and shook her head, climbing out of the digsite before cupping the back of the Banshee Queen's neck and kissing her deeply. She broke the kiss, leaning back.

"Of course not. This heat has been driving me crazy. I've been seeing mirages all day." She said with a grin.

Sylvanas chuckled, brushing her thumb over Aelwynn's lower lip. She looked her hunter over, taking in her tight sleeveless jerkin and light leather pants, both a tan color nearly the same hue as the sand below them. Her cheeks and ears were pink, and the back of her shoulders and neck were turning a light tan.

Aelwynn took Sylvanas' hand, dragging her toward the tent, and tossed Harrison her brush. "Give me a few minutes, Professor Jones, I've got to cool down."

Sylvanas laughed as they hit the threshold of the tent. "Cool down, hmm?" She asked, backing her hunter against the desk and capturing her lips in a cool kiss. Aelwynn moaned against her lover's lips, tugging Sylvanas tighter to her.

She pulled the hood from Sylvanas' head, unlatching her cloak and letting it fall to the ground, humming against her Banshee's mouth. They heard a throat clearing from the doorway and broke apart.

"I apologize, I err...Professor Jones wanted to see you down at the site before the sun went down." Ellothrien Brightfeather, a Night Elf male with the Explorer's League said from the door.

Aelwynn nodded, waving him off and dropping her head to Sylvanas' shoulder with a groan.

Sylvanas chuckled.

"Five minutes...can I not have five blasted minutes to myself?" She muttered, straightening up and yanking the leather tie from her ponytail, pulling her hair back again.

Sylvanas watched her like a hawk, struggling with the burn deep in her core for her hunter.

Aelwynn looked up, swallowing thickly at the look on Sylvanas' face. She leaned in and kissed her undead lover softly. "Give me a few minutes to deal with this, then we're going to my tent on the outskirts of this camp and you're spending as much time with me as you can before you have to leave." She said quietly, planting another kiss on her Banshee's lips before winking at her and heading out the door.

* * *

Harrison looked up, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, Nightstrider. I figured we'd get this out of the way so you could go spend the night with your lady there." He explained.

Aelwynn nodded, relaxing slightly as she felt the temperature around them cooling as the sun went down. She watched him look up to the tent, his eyes widening as he realized who Aelwynn's visitor was. The elf smirked at him, glancing up at the Banshee Queen and waving her down. "My love, meet Professor Harrison Jones, Archaeologist extraordinaire and master of interruptions." She said, taking Sylvanas' hand as she neared. "Professor, meet my lover, Sylvanas Windrunner, Dark Lady of the Forsaken."

He ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck before looking back up at Sylvanas and Aelwynn. "I apologize, Your Majesty, if I'd known who Nightstrider's mysterious guest was, I would have snagged her before..." He trailed off. Her stare unsettled him, unnatural crimson orbs looking him over from an impassive face. She turned to her lover and smirked, winking.

"It is entirely my fault, Professor. I should have notified Aelwynn of my visit beforehand. It isn't often I get to surprise her, so I take the opportunities as they arrive." She explained, wrapping her arm low around Aelwynn's waist.

He nodded. "Well, give us just a few minutes and I'll be out of your hair." He turned, waving the young gnome over.

Aelwynn glanced up at Sylvanas, the corner of her lips curling as she took in her lover's form, soft black leather covered her from the neck down, and as the breeze picked up, strands of silver hair danced in the wind.

"Amberlyn's gonna show you what else we've been working on. We need to get this site covered for the night, they've had some sand storms roll through and we'd like to keep the progress where it's at." She said softly, tucking a few strands of hair behind Sylvanas' ear.

Sylvanas cupped her cheek, ignoring the people around them. "You had best hurry, _Dalah'surfal_. I'm not a patient woman, and I will come looking for you." She said, smirking as Aelwynn nodded, swallowing reflexively.

"Of course." Aelwynn husked.

Sylvanas turned, looking down at the young gnome and nodding her head once.

"If you'll follow me, Your Highness, I'll show you the new chambers we uncovered yesterday."

Aelwynn watched the sway in Sylvanas' hips as she walked away, licking her lips. Flashes of their past encounters floated through her mind, chilled smooth skin, marked here and there by scars. Long cold limbs beautifully sculpted with muscle pressed against her heated skin, and a mellifluous voice caressing her ears as a cool pair of lips closed around her earlobe, fingers trailing from her abdomen-

"Nightstrider..."

Jones' voice snapped her out of the memory and she blinked rapidly, gritting her teeth as she felt the tips of her ears heat. "Sorry..."

* * *

Sylvanas lounged on Aelwynn's customary pallet of furs, comfortable in her nudity, and looked around the tent. She shook her head, chuckling softly as she noticed how organized everything was, every shelf was labeled, her findings were carefully laid out, spaced properly. Her desk was neat, her pack resting next to the door, her armor on the stand in the corner, and an armoire sat against the back wall of the rigid tent, two sets of pale leather boots sitting to its left. There was a doorway connecting the main tent to a washroom, complete with heated water.

She shifted onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow and watching as her Hunter came in the door of the tent, freezing in place as the tent flap fell behind her.

Aelwynn swallowed, looking at the expanse of pale blue-grey skin before her, heated crimson eyes gazing into her own. Her gaze traveled to a narrow shoulder, down her collar bone to a pair of beautiful breasts, a narrow waist, into mouthwateringly shapely legs. Sylvanas had stripped nude while Aelwynn had been finishing up with Harrison, and stepping in the door her heart had nearly exploded and stopped all at once.

"By the gods...you are going to kill me." Aelwynn husked, setting the silent alarm on her tent flap and stripping off her top as she stepped toward the pallet.

* * *

Sylvanas leaned on her elbow, watching Aelwynn sleep. It was reaching early morning, and her Hunter had fallen asleep a little over an hour ago. They had been insatiable, being parted for nearly three months with only letters as correspondence, and had spent the entire night lost in one another.

The Banshee Queen had noticed when she walked into the tent that there had been a silencing spell cast on the tent itself, and had chuckled softly, knowing that her lover would fight to keep quiet. They both had been far more vocal than usual, Sylvanas had nearly screamed herself hoarse, and had luckily had enough control to keep from unleashing a Banshee Wail.

Sylvanas, while physically stronger due to her habits and her work as the Ranger General during life, was easily matched in strength due to the curse of the Worgen that now flowed through Aelwynn's blood. They had struggled against one another for domination, and where Aelwynn would usually allow Sylvanas to win that fight, last night she had been determined and beyond control.

They were never physically violent with one another, but Aelwynn now sported a rather savage looking bite mark on her neck from Sylvanas' struggle to contain a Wail. Rather than recoiling in pain, the bite seemed to fuel the beast in Aelwynn, and it led to her complete domination over Sylvanas and her pleasure.

Aelwynn shifted, groaning tiredly and cracking an eye open, glancing at the door. She blinked a couple of times, turning and nearly jumping out of her skin.

Sylvanas frowned. " _Dalah'surfal_?" She asked softly.

Aelwynn blinked quickly, sighing and turning to face her Banshee Queen. "M'sorry." She mumbled, curling against Sylvanas' chest. She shifted, rolling her shoulder and hissed, reaching up and laying her hand over the bite mark.

Sylvanas moved her hand, frowning at the trickle of blood. "I'm sorry." She said softly, brushing her thumb over the bite and wiping the blood away.

Aelwynn hummed, burying her face in Sylvanas' neck. "You're fine. I probably deserved it." She said hoarsely, kissing the base of her lover's throat.

Sylvanas chuckled. "Yes, it was either bite you, or blow your eardrums with a Wail. That bite will heal, your ears wouldn't."

Aelwynn leaned back, looking up at her lover with wide eyes. "I...really..?" She said. "Wow...I don't even know what I did to cause that..."

Sylvanas raised a brow, tracing the bite mark gently. "I think part of it may have been the fact that you refused to give up control." She watched Aelwynn's expression change, her eyes becoming hooded.

"You didn't seem to mind too much." She husked, smirking and raising a pale brow.

Sylvanas chuckled, kissing her lover's forehead. "No, I didn't mind at all. Now, I'm going to need to go back to Undercity at some point, but I want you to get at least a few more hours of sleep before I go." She said, shifting her arm beneath the pillow and tugging Aelwynn against her.

Her hunter sighed, relaxing into Sylvanas' chest and stroked the cool arm draped over her waist. She smiled softly, pressing a kiss to the bare side of the Blood Elf's neck as she felt the woman relax completely against her.

"I can hear you thinking." Aelwynn mumbled, turning onto her back and watching Sylvanas. She closed her eyes as her Banshee Queen traced the bridge of her nose.

"Sleep, _Dalah'surfal_." Sylvanas whispered, kissing her temple.

"Wanna hear somethin funny?" Aelwynn asked tiredly.

Sylvanas leaned up, watching her Blood Elf. "What's that?"

Aelwynn grinned drowsily. "Las time I was home, heard a couple of your people making bets that I was jus your sidepiece. 'Parently they all think good old N'thanos is your true love an you jus wanna keep the peace with us Blood Elves so ya took me. Shoulda seen the look on his face...didn't think he could get uglier."

Sylvanas frowned, watching Aelwynn fall back to sleep. She had heard several of Nathanos' underlings speculating over her true relationship with the former human ranger, and Nathanos had done nothing to halt their conversations. She had rebuffed him several times, plainly stating that there was nothing he had that she could possibly want. She had her mind made up before Aelwynn woke, she would confront Nathanos, force him to keep his people in line, and find a way to prove to her people once and for all that her life was her own. That her love was her own to give, and that Aelwynn Nightstrider was the woman she would choose to spend the rest of her existence with.

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 **Leave a review, y'all!**


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